Ancestor Figure (Tau Tau)
ClassificationsSculpture
Datelate 19th to 20th Century
Made AtIndonesia, Asia
MediumJackfruit wood, shell and pigment
Dimensions62 × 11 × 15 in. (157.5 × 27.9 × 38.1 cm)
Credit LineGift of the Joseph and Barbara Goldenberg Estate
Object number2010.15.4a,b
DescriptionA tau tau is an effigy of an important person of the Toraja community carved upon his or her death. The sculptures played a central role in funerary rites and were receptacles of the soul before the transition to the spirit world. Ultimately, the sculptures were placed among other effigies in a rock balcony or cave dwelling to oversee the well-being of the villages.This male is extraordinary in that he is depicted with full body tattoos—an indication of royal status. He was collected from the Sa'dan River area, possibly from the royal village at Tandon near Marante, Sulawesi, Indonesia.
On View
On view
c. 1980
19th Century
